The Arkadia Mall
clearly aims at ringing in a new round in the shopping mall arms race. It is a center of superlatives, managed by Hilton and by far the largest one in Egypt.
More than 500 shops await their customers, along with an ice rink, which wasn’t working during my last visit there, probably due to Ramadan, the month of fasting, where people are used to shopping for some hours in the night. There is also a huge video wall, which wasn’t working either, maybe because showing Michael Jackson clips don’t fit the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan very much either.
The interior is great: imitating Babylon’s Hanging Gardens on a train station-like flower pot design level, but it looks nice, walls and ceiling connected by a glassy heaven, and elevators of glass, which float over the ice rink. You will have much time to explore the interior design, since you won’t be able to head straight to certain shops. Always you’ll arrive at the wrong escalator or get lost in the catacombs between the shopping windows.
Yes, the shops, what to say about 500 shops. The visitor will find nearly everything, even a toyshop (Toys’R’Us), which is surprising for Egyptian shopping malls. Many international brands have outlets here, Timberland, Adidas, Nike, Habitat (furniture), as well as their Egyptian imitating counterparts, for example Armanio – notice the o at the end of the word! Whilst strolling along the shop windows you will see, that platform shoe soles have conquered the Egyptian market, after they ruined the spinal columns of whole generations of Western teenagers. You can make your inmost secret dreams becoming true (»Realize your dreams: American Sofas«), or you take a rest in the food court, worth mentioning, because it not only features the inevitable international burger chains, you also find Indian and Chinese snack bars, the famous Abou Shaqra (Egyptian food) and Nathan’s.
Arkadia Shopping Mall. Corniche Al-Nil, Boulaq, Cairo, 300 meters (1000 feet) north of the World Trade Center and the Conrad International Hotel. Open daily from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm. Don’t expect all of the shops to open at ten on the dot! On Sunday, some shops may be closed. ATM available (for getting Egyptian cash by using international credit cards), but most of the shops accept all major credit cards, too, even for little expenses.